Anesthetic management of an ex utero intrapartum treatment procedure: a novel balanced approach

Ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedures are therapeutic interventions for fetuses with life-threatening airway abnormalities and/or other prenatally diagnosed congenital malformations requiring immediate neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Although certain anesthetic goals are common among EXIT procedures, many different approaches to their management have been described in the literature. Herein, we present a novel anesthetic approach to an EXIT procedure for fetal micrognathia and retrognathia. We also review the indications and anesthetic considerations for these procedures and highlight the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to optimize clinical outcomes.